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Sri Lanka Hails Victory; Refugees Unsure of Future

In Sri Lanka, government forces, say they've won crucial victories, allowing them to cut off the rebel Tamil Tigers' supply line and securing terrain used to shell a naval base.

But for 40,000 Tamil refugees who have been displaced by both civil war and a tsunami, the question is when — and how — they be allowed back to her home.

Nahalingam Vijerami, 30, says she has lost count of how many times she's been forced to flee her home. Most of her life has been spent under canvas in squalid and overcrowded camps. Now she's a "displaced person" once again, having been driven out of a Tamil village on Sri Lanka's east coast.

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Philip Reeves
Philip Reeves is an award-winning international correspondent covering South America. Previously, he served as NPR's correspondent covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India.